Happy Pride month ya'll!
While the rest of the country has some fun parades, in Phoenix we're all going to be waiting it out until we can party in late October.
While it's a time to celebrate, this is also a time where we need to draw awareness to the fact that legislators right now are finding ways to further oppress the transgender population.
Barriers have been created for healthcare providers to give care to transgender patients.
The ACLU is currently tracking 491 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills across the country. Eleven of those bills are in our state. Some of them in Arizona include..
SB 1026 and SB1030 would prohibit drag queens from performing in any public areas and during certain times of the day. Venues would be barred from being around playgrounds, childcare facilities, churches, schools or residential homes. This would eliminate events such as drag brunches or storytime.
SB 1698 would mean that any adult that allows children to see a drag show could be sentenced to prison for five years and would have to register as a sex offender. This was thankfully amended and removed references to drag.
SB 1040 would mean that public schools need to label single-bathrooms by biological sex. It would also allow people to sue the schools allowing students to use bathrooms by gender identity.
SB 1700 would ban books promoting gender fluidity or alternative pronouns.
Across the country, bills have been passing throughout the country, restricting rights. Florida is a hotspot right now for it. It should make us conscious that the person pushing this, Ron DeSantis, is running for president. If you aren't registered to vote, this is the time to make sure these don't make it to the federal level.
There are laws pending that criminalize healthcare providers who offer gender-affirming care to patients - particularly minors. There are laws protecting conversion therapy. There are laws that would strip parents of rights to their children if they seek gender-affirming care for them. Book bans. Bathroom restrictions. Bans for people to join sports team based on gender identity. Bans on implicit bias training. Bans on diversity training. Bans on changes to gender on birth certificates. Bans on allowing teachers to use pronouns associated with a student's gender identity at school.
There is a law in Kansas that passed that ban someone from identifying a gender other than their biological sex.
There is a law in Montana that restricts the ability of any healthcare provider to give gender affirming care to trans youth..and it bans anyone who works for the state with youth for acknowledging gender dysphoria treatment
There is the "Don't Say Gay" bill in Florida which many other states are attempting to replicate.
So while this is a month to celebrate, it is a month to mourn the loss of rights as well. In many cases, the trans/nonbinary population can feel very isolated from the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole.
What we need to remember as allies is that the loss of rights for one community is the beginning of further oppression. Our silence does not protect them, and it does not protect us.
We need to amplify voices of those within the community. First they come for the rights of the trans/nonbinary community - but what is next? It will not stop here. And we are all humans. Basic rights are being infringed upon, and we cannot allow this to continue.
